The Village Christmas Forgot
by Riyuto-san
Summary: Returning from a successful mission, a sudden snowstorm forces the Konoha shinobi to take shelter in a small unknown village. Something's odd, though. There are no Christmas decorations, and it's Dec 23. Can Naruto spread holiday cheer and get the girl?
1. There Once Was a Village,

It's December, which means Christmas is right around the corner. I love this time of year. All of the Christmas movies come on, people decorate their houses, and there are all kinds of special snacks and drinks (boiled custard among my favorites)!

I wanted to do another Christmas special this year, and I hope you enjoy it. It's in 2 parts, just so you know.

**Disclaimer:** Riyuto-san does not own Naruto. The rights are not under the tree this year. He checked.

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><p>Naruto hummed a happy tune as he and his friends made their trek back to the village. He, Hinata, Rock Lee, and Kiba had been assigned a mission a couple of days ago to deliver an important package to the Daimyo. The mission had gone off without a hitch, much to Naruto's relief. Today was December 23, and that meant only one thing.<p>

"Christmas is in two days," Muttered Naruto happily. He rubbed his hands together at just the thought of the holiday.

Kiba sighed. "Give it a rest, will ya? You've been chanting that for the past two hours. I'm getting sick of hearing it."

"But Kiba, where is your holiday spirit?" Asked Lee, cocking a brow.

"I've got plenty; I'm just not gonna express it aloud every five seconds." Replied Kiba. Akamaru barked in confirmation.

Naruto chuckled. "Oh, just wait Kiba. I've got gifts for everyone this year. Even your sorry butt."

Kiba raised a skeptical brow. "Is that so?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep, I spared no expense. If you don't believe me, just wait until Christmas day. Then you'll see."

Lee took a large step to walk next to Naruto. "So what did you get me?" He asked.

Naruto chuckled again. "I'm not telling." Naruto glanced back, and his gaze met with the pale eyes of the Hyuuga girl.

Her gaze lingered on his, and a blush spread across her cheeks. Naruto nonchalantly turned his head back to Lee and began laughing as he begged Naruto to tell him what he got him. She was happy she was getting to spend time with him like this. She had thought that, after confessing her feelings when she did, things would be awkward between the two of them. However, things went the opposite way. Naruto either didn't remember, or didn't want to remember.

Hinata didn't know which one hurt her the most.

As Hinata contemplated her and Naruto's relationship, she heard Kiba speak up from her side. "Hold up guys, something's not right."

Naruto and the others stopped in their tracks and turned to Kiba. "What is it?" The blond asked.

Kiba sniffed the air. "You smell that Akamaru?" He asked. Akamaru sniffed the air as well, and barked a yes. "There's a bad snow storm moving in."

Naruto turned his gaze up to the sky, searching for the weather Kiba spoke of. All he saw were a few harmless white clouds in the distance. "I don't see anything."

"You idiot, my nose is a lot better at sensing this stuff than your eyes." Snapped Kiba.

"Oy, don't call me an idiot, flea bag! I say we keep on going." Retorted Naruto.

"If we don't find a place to hunker down in soon, it will be too late."

"And when is this system supposed to come in?"

"…I don't know exactly."

"Aha! So you don't really know. We could be back to the village by the time it hits."

Kiba went silent for a moment. Naruto grinned in triumph. "So then it's settled. Let's keep going. I need to get home to finish wrapping the gifts as soon as possible."

Kiba sighed. "So you'd rather us risk our lives so you can wrap your presents?"

Naruto turned to Kiba. "Take a look at the sky. If we were about to get hit with this snowstorm, I think we would have already seen signs by now."

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><p><em>Ten minutes later<em>

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><p>Snow seemed to pour from the sky like a waterfall. Blinding snow flowed down upon the Konoha shinobi. Blanket upon blanked hammered down, and it was all they could do to try and brace themselves.<p>

"Still think I'm being paranoid?" Hollered Kiba.

"How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?" Yelled Naruto, clinging to a tree.

"You could have freaking listened to me! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't wanted to wrap your stupid presents!"

"Just shut up and use your nose to find someplace to get out of this!"

Kiba wanted to hit Naruto as hard as he could, but he couldn't see him, and was having a hard time keeping hold of the boulder he was clinging to. "My nose is useless in this extreme cold. I can't sniff anything out. Heck, I can't smell anything!"

"What about Hinata-san?" Yelled Lee. He had braced himself in the snow, and was actually having a mini battle with the storm. He could feel he was winning. "Couldn't she use her byakkugan to find somewhere?"

Naruto glanced around. "Hinata?" He called.

"Hai!" She called. She was actually next to Naruto, but even she couldn't see him in this blinding snow. She activated her kekkei genkai and scanned the surrounding area. It was hard, but she could definitely see something…. "I think I found something. Looks like…a house of some sort."

"We need to get over there!" Hollared Naruto. He could tell where Hinata was now that she was speaking. He reached out and took a hold of her hand.

Hinata nearly jumped out of her snow boots. If it hadn't been for this storm, she would have fainted on the spot.

"Kiba, Lee! Follow the sound of my voice and take my hand. We need Hinata to lead the way!" Shouted Naruto.

The others agreed, and quickly fumbled around in the wall of snow for each other. They managed to find and lock hands, though. "Lead the way Hinata!" Said Naruto. Hinata nodded, and began leading her friends towards the target location.

It took them a while of walking through the many trees and bushes to come across what Hinata had located. If anything, the snow storm was getting worse. They were all already up to their knees in snow.

They came up to a building. As they approached it, they could tell that it was a large building. Hinata was not sure, but she thought she could see lights on through a window. She stepped forward, and knocked on the door as hard as she could with her free hand.

They stood there for a moment, hoping and praying that the door would open.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door quickly creaked open, and the group of shinobi rushed through the door. The man who had opened it slammed it shut after Akamaru had filed in. The Konoha shinobi collapsed to their bottoms, panting heavily.

Naruto patted his legs several times. "I don't think I can feel my legs." He said.

Lee nodded. "Any longer out there, and the snowstorm might have bested even me." He admitted.

Kiba rubbed his hands together, trying to create warmth as Akamaru shook the snow off of his body. "I can't feel my nose." He turned to Naruto. "Hey, try and listen to me next time."

Naruto waved his hand from side to side. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Hinata sneezed, which earned a "bless you" from the man who had let them in. Hinata stood and brushed her jacket off. She bowed to the man. "Thank you for letting us into your home."

The man shook his head with a grin. "No, it was no problem. Besides, this isn't my house; this is just the village's inn. My name is Hideo, and I run this place."

"It is nice to meet you. I am Hyuuga Hinata," She said, bowing again. "May we please stay here for the night?"

Hideo chuckled. "It doesn't seem like you or your friends have any choice. I would be contributing to your deaths if I didn't let you stay."

"Arigato."

"There is a fireplace in the dining room," Hideo said, gesturing to a large door down a hallway. "Why don't you and your friends go there and warm up while I get your rooms ready."

Kiba and the others snapped to attention at the word "fireplace." They stood up, said their thanks, and sprinted for the warmth they were promised. Hinata giggled before following after them.

Naruto had thoroughly enjoyed warming up by the fire. Even though Kiba bit his ear off again, all he had to do was tune him out and let the fire do its job. It didn't take too long for Hideo to reappear and announce that the rooms are ready.

"Already?" Asked Kiba.

Hideo nodded. "We do not get many visitors, but we always have the rooms made up just in case."

With that, they thanked him, and allowed him to escort them to their rooms. They walked to the main room and turned to go up the set of stairs that lead to the top floor. They climbed, with Naruto bringing up the rear. He glanced around as he went up, and had a feeling in his gut that something wasn't right. It was like waking up in the morning and not knowing if there was ramen in the cabinets.

Naruto suddenly understood what was wrong with the inn. He glanced at the head of the line, where Hideo was. "Hey, Hideo-san! Where are all the Christmas decorations?" He asked.

Hideo turned to Naruto as they stopped at the top of the stairs. "What are you talking about?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"I mean, I don't see a Christmas tree or any decorations anywhere." He replied. The others glanced around, as if they were just realizing the same thing Naruto noticed.

"Christmas? What it that? Is it a kind of wood?" Asked Hideo.

Naruto blinked a few times. He didn't know how to explain it, and at the moment he didn't feel like he had the energy to find out if Hideo was really messing with him or not. He shook it off and said he would explain later.

Hideo seemed to be satisfied with it, as if knowing what Christmas was, was something unnecessary and useless. The ninja were shown their rooms, and they bid each other a good night. Naruto filed into his room and noticed just how small it was. There was a bed, a desk, a dresser drawer, and a window.

He was fine with the size though, as he dropped his pack by the door and plopped himself down onto the bed. He buried his face in the pillow, and the last thing he remembered thinking about before passing out was how confused Hideo was at the mention of Christmas.

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><p>Naruto awoke early the next morning. He didn't know if there was actually anything that woke him up, and as he lie in the bed, his eyes slowly slid shut as he prepared to fall asleep again. There was a sudden voice that rang out inside of his head. It screamed, "Wake up Naruto, it's Christmas Eve!"<p>

His eyes widened and lit up with the excitement. That meant tomorrow would be Christmas. He had to get back to his apartment and finish wrapping the presents. That alone seemed to force him out of bed. He glanced over at the window, and noticed that it had stopped snowing. He walked over and pulled it open. He hung his head out, and noted that the sun was just beginning to rise.

Below him were a few villagers. Some were adults, meeting and greeting with one another. Most of them were children, however. They were all currently engaged in what could be described as one of the greatest snowball fights ever. There was so much snow, that most of the children could hide themselves simply by digging a hole, standing in it, and burying themselves. It was perfect.

Naruto closed his eyes, and took a good whiff of the air. "Gotta love the Christmas air." He said to himself. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" he hollered. The glanced around, wanting to take in the reaction of the villagers. Many just glanced up at him with confused looks on their faces, much like Hideo's. The adults shook their heads and went back to their conversations. Naruto's brows lowered in confusion. More people that didn't know what Christmas was? How was that possible?

Suddenly, Naruto was pelted in the face by a snowball. He staggered back with a shocked gasp. He wiped the snow from his face, and went back to the window. The children were pointing and giggling. "Got ya mister!" One of the boys shouted, and the rest seemed to laugh harder.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Oh, it is soooo on." He said. He created a few shadow clones and leapt out of the window. The children were gawking at the fact that there were three Naruto's, and the Naruto's laughed. "I hope you're ready for the snowball fight of your lives." They said, scooping up clumps of snow and packing them into snowballs.

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><p>Hinata woke up not too long after Naruto. She could immediately hear the laughter of children, followed by the laughter of her long time crush. He elegantly rose out of bed and strode over to the window. She peered out and spotted a few Naruto's, laughing and trying to duck a barrage of snow being hurled at them, while trying to throw their snowballs back at the children.<p>

A warm smile spread across Hinata's lips as she watched. She suddenly felt the urge to go outside. She rummaged through her pack and pulled out her second jacket, mittens, and her white furry earmuffs. She slid out of her room quietly so as not to wake the others and made her way down the stairs. She slid out the front door doubled back around to the back of the inn, where a few people had gathered to watch the snowball fight.

Naruto was losing, and Hinata couldn't help but wonder if it was because he wanted to let the kids have fun. She giggled as she watched Naruto laugh as he and his clones were hit with snowball after snowball.

"So how are there three of him?" Came a voice next to Hinata.

She jumped slightly at the surprise of her guest. She turned to see Hideo standing next to her, sipping coffee out of a mug as he watched the scene before him. "Oh, Hideo-san. Good morning." She said, bowing.

He nodded kindly. "Good morning to you as well, Hinata-san. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Hinata shook her head. "It's alright."

Hideo's gaze went back to Naruto. "So how are there three of them?"

"I'm sorry. Naruto-kun and I are shinobi from Konoha. He can create kage bunshin of himself." She explained.

Hideo raised a brow. "As many as he wants?" He asked.

Hinata nodded. "Hai."

Hideo whistled. "What I wouldn't give for all that help." Hinata laughed lightly. He was quiet for a moment. "I wonder why he is so happy when he is getting beaten so badly by children."

Hinata smiled. "Naruto-kun loves Christmas, it's his favorite holiday." She said. Although, she was sure that if a new ramen themed holiday were to be founded, that would definitely replace Christmas.

Hideo turned to Hinata with that same curious look he gave Naruto last night. "There's that word again. What is Christmas exactly?"

Hinata turned to Hideo with her own curious gaze. '_Does he…really not know what Christmas is?'_ She thought. "I'm sorry, but is it…possible…do you not understand what Christmas really is?"

Hideo nodded. "I've never heard of it before, and I'm pretty sure that no one else in the village know either. So, what is it exactly?"

Naruto was standing within hearing distance of Hideo and Hinata, and heard every word they had said. Especially the part where everyone in the village didn't know what Christmas was. He dropped the snowball in his hand, and the clones were dispelled instantly. He didn't understand how someone didn't know what this holiday was. It was unfathomable to him. He was in such a stupor, he completely ignored the barrage of snowballs the children threw at him.

They came running up to him, laughing joyously. Naruto crouched down to their levels, and glanced around at them. "Neh, do you guys know what Christmas is?" He asked hopefully.

His spirits dropped, though. They all seemed to be drawing blanks.

"Christmas?" One asked. Naruto nodded hopefully. "Is that some kind of tree?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"Then what is it?" Another kid asked. The others nodded, gazing intently at Naruto.

Naruto grinned. He shot his arms into the air to add to his explanation. "Christmas is only the single greatest holiday out of all of them! You decorate trees and houses, bake cookies, sing Christmas songs, and you exchange presents with the ones you care about."

The children just stood there, as if they were trying to picture this completely foreign concept.

Naruto gripped his hair with his hands and let out a frustrated yell. "Arrgh! I don't know how to explain it better!" He yelled.

"My, my, is there something wrong here young man?" Came a kind, old voice.

Naruto and the kids glanced up to see an older man with a wooden cane coming upon them. The kids greeted him, and he greeted them back warmly. He turned his attention to Naruto, and bowed. "Greetings, I am the leader of this village. My name is Asuka Kenji. May I ask your name?"

Naruto stood up and bowed nervously. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagkaure."

Kenji's eyes softened. "I have to say, that sounds rather comforting. I'm sure you'll make a fine Hokage." Naruto grinned sheepishly.

Hinata had the sinking suspicion that Asuka-san had no idea what a Hokage was. But he was being polite, she knew.

"Say, Asuka-san, maybe you can help me out here." Said Naruto.

Asuka nodded. "I can try my best."

"Do _you_ know what Christmas is?" Asked Naruto desperately.

Asuka seemed to ponder this for a moment before replying. "I'm sorry, but I don't seem to be familiar with that term. Is it a type of tree?"

Naruto shook his head. "Why don't you know what Christmas is?"

Asuka shrugged his shoulders. "Please forgive me, my boy. You see, the people of this village tend to keep to themselves. We never wander farther than the boundaries. Why, not too many villages even know that we exist. I was born in this village many years ago, and inherited the title of leader when my father retired. That being said, there are only about sixty or so villagers living here. Most of the time, the only visitors we get are people lost in the woods. We feed them, shelter them, and then they depart rather quickly."

Naruto narrowed his brows as he processed the information. "So you've never been outside of the village?"

Asuka shook his head. "Afraid not, my boy."

Naruto lowered his head. '_I can't believe…that this place…on Christmas Eve…has no Christmas spirit….'_

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><p>It's short, but it's not over yet. Review for more good Christmas fun. And some NarutoHinata fluff. You all love that.


	2. With No Christmas In Sight,

Here we are, for chapter 2. Enjoy.

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><p>It was an hour later when Kiba and Lee awoke and ventured outside to meet up with Naruto and Hinata. Naruto was still sulking a little by the front of the inn, and Hinata was doing her best to try and cheer him up. Kiba glanced at his two comrades.<p>

"You guys about ready to go?" He asked. Naruto didn't even spare Kiba a glance, and Hinata glanced up at him apologetically and then back down to Naruto. He cocked a brow as he glanced at Hinata. "So what's wrong with him?" He asked.

Hinata quickly filled him and Lee in on why Naruto was feeling a little down. When she finished, Kiba let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look Naruto, so what if they don't celebrate Christmas. It's not like they have to." He said.

Naruto's gaze met Kiba's. "I understand that, but it's not like they _don't_ want to celebrate it. They don't know about it."

"So why is it bothering you?"

Naruto paused for a moment. "Because…well, because it's Christmas. Who wouldn't want to celebrate it?"

Kiba shook his head in frustration. "Believe it or not, there are people that don't like Christmas, Naruto. We don't have time for this. We need to get back to the village and report back to the Hokage, so we can go home and celebrate with our families."

Naruto folded his hands across his chest. "I'm not going home…not yet."

Everyone's gaze snapped onto Naruto. Lee and Hinata exchanged worried glances. "What?" Asked Kiba.

"I'm going to stay here and try to teach them about Christmas." He replied.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?" He asked.

"I don't care. I'm staying, you guys can go home. Just let Tsunade-baa-chan know what I'm doing. I'll be back tomorrow."

"We can't just leave you, Naruto." Protested Lee.

"Sure you can. It's not like I have anyone in Konoha to spend Christmas with anyways. I usually just spend it home, alone. At least this way I could do something useful." Replied the blond. He glanced past Hinata to watch two boys throwing snowballs at each other.

Hinata felt a sudden rush of guilt and an urge to embrace Naruto in a hug. Had she known he was spending Christmas alone all these years, she would have done something for him. Surely she had to know he was alone on Christmas, with the way the other villagers had treated him. She should have gone over to his apartment and given him a present or something.

"And what are we supposed to do?" Asked Kiba stubbornly.

"I said you guys could leave without me. I'll be back the day after Christmas. I promise." Replied Naruto. His fierce gaze locked with Kiba's, and they entered into a stare off.

Kiba caved, snarling. "Fine, if you want to waste your time here, then far be it for me to stop you. Come on Hinata, Lee, let's get out of here."

Kiba turned to leave, but stopped when he didn't hear the crunching of snow following him. He glanced back to see Hinata and Lee.

Hinata's expression was as apologetic as she could get. She bowed. When she spoke, it was full of resolution. "I'm sorry, Kiba-kun, but I'm going to stay here w-with Naruto-kun and help him."

Naruto looked up at Hinata, sincere surprise on his face. "Hinata…."

She blushed crimson and smiled warmly, which Naruto returned.

"Me too." Announced Lee.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You guys can't be serious. Do you not know what day it is?"

Lee nodded. "Yes. It's Christmas Eve. It is a time for helping others, and I want to help Naruto's Christmas wish come true."

Naruto blinked a few times. "Thanks, Lee."

The green beast gave Naruto a thumbs up. "Don't mention it."

Snow began pouring lightly through the sky, and clouds were beginning to accumulate, threatening to grow darker later on in the day.

Kiba glanced up at the weather and pointed up at the sky. "What do you guys think you're going to accomplish in one day? And with another snow storm on the way?"

Naruto rose to his feet, and locked eyes with Kiba again. "We'll pull it off somehow."

"Christmas is the time for miracles." Chimed Lee.

"Kiba-kun, please stay and help us." Pleaded Hinata.

Kiba had to avoid making eye contact with her, or he would surely cave. "I have to get back to my family, Hinata. You know that. We have celebrations we save just for today. Traditions, you know?" He paused for a moment. "What about you, Hinata? What about your family? Won't they be mad?"

Hinata stiffened, as if she hadn't thought about that at all. She glanced nervously at the ground, and Naruto was sure she was going to give in and go with Kiba.

"Well...it w-will probably upset them a lot…but I want to do this. I want to help Naruto-kun, and everyone else in this village, no matter what happens." She said firmly. Her voice betrayed her, though. It was obvious that she was afraid of disappointing her father, and she knew the consequences.

But Kiba also knew how much Hinata loved Naruto. She would do anything for him. He sighed in defeat. "I'm heading back, with or without you guys. I'll let the Hokage know what's going on. I can't imagine she'll be too happy."

Everyone nodded, said goodbye and Kiba left with Akamaru, disappearing into the darkness of the woods.

"Kiba-kun!" Called Hinata, in hopes he would reconsider.

"Don't waste your breath, Hinata. We don't need his help." Said Naruto, folding his arms, still staring in the direction Kiba had left.

Lee turned to Naruto. "So what are we going to do now?"

Naruto grinned at Lee. "We need to go and see the leader of the village again. After all, we only have one day to teach everyone about Christmas."

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><p>"I'm sorry, what is it you want to do again?" Asked Asuka Kenji.<p>

The Konoha Shinobi had come into his home in the center of the village, and were now standing in his small office. The stuffed heads of panthers and wolves adorned the walls, and the floor was chestnut color. Snow had already started falling, and was now coming down harder, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday.

Naruto gestured widely. "I want to try and give everyone in the village the Christmas experience." He said.

Asuka scratched his head, and bit his lip in a mix of curiosity and thought. "And how would you go about doing this?"

"It's simple. Just gather everyone for a meeting, and I'll tell them how to celebrate Christmas." Explained the blond.

"I'm sorry, but can you elaborate?"

Naruto fumbled to find the right words, but thankfully Hinata stepped in to save him. She politely explained many of the customs of the holiday, such as exchanging presents, decorating the home and streets, and telling of Christmas stories. She spun her explanation so well; Naruto couldn't help but be impressed.

After Hinata's explanation, Asuka closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I see. That does sound interesting, if I do say so myself. Tell me, when is this holiday?"

Lee, Hinata, and Naruto exchanged a look and sighed. "It's actually today." Said Naruto.

"Christmas is split into two days; Christmas Eve and Christmas Day." Said Lee quickly, noticing the bewildered look of Asuka.

"Yes, but the real Christmas holiday isn't fully celebrated until tomorrow." Chimed Hinata.

Asuka folded his arms and made to speak, but began coughing instead. He grabbed a handkerchief and coughed into it. His wife came quickly into the room and handed him a cup of water, which he took quickly and downed it in one shot. He cleared his throat, and handed the cup back to his wife. He thanked her, and assured her he would be fine. She took it and vanished from the room.

"I apologize for that. I tend to get a little…under the weather with this cold weather." Said Asuka. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes. I don't mean to sound rude, but how do you expect us to make preparations for a holiday that is going on right now. From what you told me, it's a pretty grand event."

Naruto gave him his best reassuring grin. He gave a thumbs up. "Leave it all to me. If you can gather everyone in the towns square, I can get this party started."

Asuke smiled kindly. He was obviously a very polite man, from the way he handled things. Naruto felt he could trust this man, even though they had only met this morning. "I won't lie, this prospect does sound interesting, but to be honest, I'm not sure if the other villagers will go for it."

"But sir," Spoke Lee quickly, "Christmas is a holiday about spending time with the ones you love, and letting all of your loved ones just how much you care about them. You have a fun time with them, and do many family activities."

"I understand, young man." Asuka sighed, and seemed to mentally debate. He didn't do it long. He locked eyes firmly with Naruto. "I can't promise anything will come of this, but it couldn't hurt to try. I'll call the meeting when the snow lets up in a bit, in about an hour. Is that okay?"

Naruto smiled at his friends and turned back to Asuka. "You bet it is. I'll use that time to prepare my speech. Just you wait old man. This is going to be a Christmas you won't forget!"

* * *

><p>Naruto, Lee, and Hinata returned to the inn and retired to the dining room, collapsing in front of the fireplace. They talked for a while about how they would go about doing the Christmas celebrations. Hideo brought them hot chocolate, which they happily accepted and thanked him.<p>

Naruto sipped on his, but burnt his tongue. He set it aside and leaned forward to reply to Lee's question. "What do you mean?"

"What we going to do about decorations, like ornaments and stuff? It's not like we can get our hands on them right now." Said Lee.

"We can do some handmade ornaments. I bet the kids will love it." Replied Naruto.

"Like what?" Asked Lee.

"We could do paper machete snowflakes." Suggested Hinata.

"Yeah, and those paper angel things. Do you know how to make them, Hinata?" Asked Naruto.

Hinata blushed and nodded. "My mother and I used to make them all the time for Christmas."

Naruto paused. "I thought you said your family didn't celebrate Christmas?"

Her gaze drifted towards the floor. "We don't anymore. Not since my mother passed away."

Guilt washed over Naruto. He had made Hinata think about something sad on such a great day. Some friend he was. "Sorry, Hinata."

She shook her head. "It's fine, Naruto-kun. My father only celebrated Christmas because it was her favorite holiday, so after she passed on, it depressed him, so we stopped celebrating it."

Naruto felt even more guilt. He would make it up to her. A fire suddenly flared to life within Naruto. Not only was he going to give the gift of Christmas to the small village, but now he was determined to make it his personal mission to give Hinata the best Christmas he could, by any means necessary.

* * *

><p>The time passed quickly, and before they knew it, they were standing besides the village leader in a wooden gazebo at the center of the small village, calling all residents over for an emergency meeting. A few people seemed startled, like there might be an actual emergency, which made Naruto feel a little guilty. Hopefully they would calm down when they realized there was nothing dire going on.<p>

The snow had subsided mostly. It was flurrying now, and the sun was trying to peek out in between the clouds. With any luck, the weather would stay this way until tomorrow.

"My friends, please gather around, I wish to address you all as soon as possible." Continued Asuka, gesturing widely. His wife was also going around and gathering the villagers.

Naruto counted about 50 so far, which meant only about ten to fifteen people still weren't here. Soon would be his moment of truth. Could he convince a group of people he never met to embrace a holiday off of his suggestion? Maybe Kiba had been right, and this was a waste of time?

He shook those thoughts out of his mind. He was going to show that selfish jerk up.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the rest of the villagers filed into the group. The children were huddled close to their parents. Even Hideo was there, standing next to a beautiful brunette woman holding a small infant in her arms. He smiled at the three of them, and they waved in reply.

"Is everyone accounted for? Yes. Very good. Thank you for gathering like this at such a short notice." Said Asuka politely.

"Is there something wrong, Asuka-san?" Asked a man in the crowd. "Are we in danger?"

Whispers spread like wildfire through the group, and Asuka raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"No, nothing like that. As some of you know, we have some guests in our village today, and they informed me about something that I think you all would enjoy very much." Spoke Asuka.

Naruto was impressed with the way he worked. The entire audience was hanging on every word.

Asuka gestured to Naruto, who now felt a little intimidated, since all eyes were now on him, sizing him up. He felt butterflies. "This young man's name is Naruto, and he is from Konohagakure. He wishes to speak to you all, and I ask that you listen." He placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and helped him step forward. "Go ahead." He whispered.

Naruto gulped and took a glance back at Lee and Hinata. Lee gave him a nod and thumbs up, while Hinata smiled at him warmly and nodded, mouthing "you can do it". He took in the crowd, and waved back at the young kids who waved at him.

"I know you!" Came one kids voice. "You were the guy from the snowball fight."

"Uhh…hi." Said Naruto. He took a deep, relaxing breath and opened his mouth to speak. "Umm…I wanted to…umm…okay, how about this. How many people here know what Christmas is?"

No one in the crowd raised their hands. Lee did, however, but quickly withdrew it feeling embarrassed.

"I thought so." Muttered Naruto.

"What's Christmas?" Asked a man in the front. "Some kind of weapon?"

There was a gasp in the crowd.

Naruto shook his head quickly. "No, nothing like that. Christmas is a holiday. A certain day of the year."

"What's so special about this Christmas?" Came a voice in the center this time.

"When is it?" Came another.

"Err…well, it's today." He answered. Again, the crowd began talking. They quickly got silent, and began watching Naruto intently again, waiting for him to begin speaking again. "And…uh…I wanted to try and help you guys celebrate Christmas."

"Naruto," Spoke Hideo, "If today is Christmas, how are you going to help us celebrate it? We would spend half of the day learning just how to do it."

"Oh…umm…oh yeah, sorry. Christmas is actually two days. Today is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas."

Hideo (as well as just about everyone there) seemed confused. "What's the difference?" He asked.

"Well…Christmas Eve is the day when you get all of your…preparations for Christmas ready, and then the next day you have the full celebrations." Replied the blond.

Hideo nodded in understanding. "Okay, but how do we celebrate it? What are we supposed to do?"

Naruto suddenly realized what Hideo was trying to do for him. He was leading him in the right direction of the speech, trying to help him navigate this tough passage of words. He felt thankful, and felt a little more courageous.

"Okay, so Christmas is all about spending time with the people you love, and showing them just how much you care." Said Naruto. He went on to explain how the holiday worked. He explained about the decorations, the special types of food and treats, the music, the Christmas Tree, and of course Santa Claus and the presents (which the kids were immediately thrilled about) he would deliver to the children, as well as those gifts that people give to each other.

"Are you serious?" Asked a boy in a green parka. "There's an old man that delivers presents to good children on Christmas?" Naruto said yes. "Then why hasn't he visited us before?"

This was kind of a sucker punch to Naruto. Should he tell them the truth? He had seen how the little kids had lit up at the sound of Santa, and didn't want to ruin it for them. The parents seemed a little skeptical as well. No, he couldn't let their hopes be dashed. They would find out eventually, but not today.

Thankfully, Hinata saved him by stepping forward. "You see, Santa only comes to those who celebrate Christmas. There was no Christmas spirit here, so he didn't know to come." She said, with surprising confidence.

Naruto smiled at her, thanking her, to which she blushed and smiled back.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." Replied the boy. His mother slapped him up the back of the head, and told him he's being rude.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but isn't this a little last minute notice?" Asked a villager from the front. "Would we even have time to celebrate this holiday properly?"

Lee stepped forward this time. "My friend, it is never too late to celebrate Christmas."

"Is it fun?" Came a woman's voice.

"Yes, I promise." Replied Lee.

The villagers began talking amongst themselves, and Naruto began to fear that they might decide to not for it. He didn't know how he would react if that happened.

However, as the villagers kept talking, Naruto could hear and see just how excited they were getting for this. The women were talking about how they could cook a giant feast, and the kids were talking about the toys they wanted, while the men were mostly discussing the work to getting this all accomplished.

Naruto turned to Asuka, who grinned at him. "It would seem that everyone here is in agreement. I'm not surprised. All of us here are very close, and we are open to new experiences. I hope that this becomes a tradition that we all come to embrace."

Naruto nodded. "I hope so too."

Hideo stepped forward. "Naruto, I think we are all in agreement. We would love to try this Christmas experience out." The group gave a positive cheer. "But we will need your guidance. What should we do next?"

Naruto, Hinata, and Lee glanced at each other and nodded, grinning.

Naruto smiled and folded his arms. "Anyone know where we can find a good, tall tree?"

**TO BE CONTINUED….**

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><p>It went from being a one-shot to being a four chapter mini-story. This is mainly so that I can get the chapters out quickly, with it feeling to me like an actual short story. I'm also kinda busy with my own holiday plans, so I want to get out the parts of the story to the site as quickly as possible. Hope it's cool with everyone.<p>

Just so you know, this story was originally supposed to be published last year, but I got really sick and couldn't finish it before Christmas. I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but the first chapter and the first part of this chapter was written last year.

Please review. They really mean a lot to me. I really appreciate the feedback.


	3. Until Naruto Came,

Halfway through the story. Trying my best to get it done before Christmas Eve. Enjoy.

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><p>Naruto walked through the woods with a few other men from the village. The snow was up to his ankles, but he managed to walk along easily with all of the others. He had to take large steps so he wouldn't drag his feet through the snow. He could see his breath in the cold air.<p>

He had elected to go out and find the perfect Christmas tree for the village. Instead of gathering several smaller ones, everyone had agreed to get one big tree and place it in the center of the village. Naruto was all for it, though it just made decorating all the harder.

Hinata had decided to stay with the women and help them with the Christmas delicacies, while Lee helped with the decorating of the village. How Lee was going to pull that off, Naruto wasn't sure, but he had faith in his friend.

Naruto rubbed his hands together, trying to keep warm. They had been searching for a tree for about twenty minutes now. They had found a few good trees, but there wasn't one perfect enough to be called a Christmas tree. He was starting to wonder if they would find a tree soon.

"Naruto!" Called Hideo. Naruto turned around to see the man standing beside a large tree. "Would this one be okay?" He asked, gesturing towards the tree.

Naruto and the others came to look at it. It was large, and the branches were just right. After a little more inspection, Naruto just couldn't bring himself to like it enough to call it their Christmas tree. Naruto shook his head, and they continued on their way.

Walking deeper into the woods, Naruto was sure they would get lost, but Hideo informed him that they knew these woods like the back of their hands. They had grown up here, after all. He pointed out several areas of the woods and told him stories of fond memories in those areas. Naruto was amazed that he could recognize the areas so easily, despite the mountains of snow.

Naruto and the others came upon a clearing, and Naruto nearly fell over. It was almost too perfect.

Sitting in the center of the clearing was one of the largest, most beautiful, perfect trees Naruto had ever seen in his life. It was very tall, and thick all the way around. The wood was flawless, and the branches were adorned with copious amounts of green brush. It was perfect.

Naruto grinned at his comrades. "This one for sure."

Hideo raised a brow. "How are we supposed to move this tree, exactly?"

Naruto heard groans and complaints from the others as well.

Naruto's grin grew into a smirk. He performed his favorite seal, and a few dozen Naruto's appeared in the open area, startling the men. A few stumbled back, falling on their bottoms. Naruto tried not to laugh.

"Just leave it to us." Said all of the Naruto's in unison.

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><p>The surprise on the rest of the villagers face was priceless. Naruto wished he had a camera on him. They looked totally shocked to see several dozen Naruto's carrying a gigantic tree through their village. The other men trailed behind the clones, still about as surprised as before.<p>

The clones led the tree to the center of the village, and stopped when they found Asuka, standing with his wife. He too was surprised, but not as much as the others.

"What's going on? Who are all of you?" He asked, looking at all of the Narutos.

The real one came forward, grinning like an idiot. "I can create clones to help me with stuff." He replied.

Asuka nodded skeptically. "Yes, it would seem that being a shinobi has its benefits."

Naruto simply shrugged. "So where do you want the tree?" He asked.

Asuka led him and the clones to the very center of the village, where a hole in the ground had been dug out for the tree. "I'm sorry my young friend, but we didn't think you would bring back this…monster of a tree." Said the elder man.

Naruto shrugged and apologized. "Don't worry, I can fix this."

He created even more clones this time, and asked the villagers for shovels. A few men vanished and returned with various shovels of different lengths, shapes, and colors. The clones took the tools and set to work digging a wider hole for the tree trunk.

"Asuka stood next to the real Naruto, and let out a whistle. "I must be honest, Naruto. I am impressed. It would seem indeed that this is a skill quite handy to have. I can only imagine what a few of our villagers would do with such a technique." He mused.

Naruto couldn't help but brag. "Yeah, but that technique was insanely hard to learn. I just got lucky that I figured it out."

Asuka nodded. "I imagine so. With this, the tree will be up in no time."

Naruto spotted Lee and Hinata approaching the tree, and jogged on over to them. Hinata had some white powder on her cheeks, and her jacket had fresh chocolate and butterscotch stains all over the sleeves. He tried not to laugh.

"How are things going on your ends?" Asked Naruto.

Hinata shyly gestured towards herself. "Very g-good, Naruto-kun. I've taught them how to make a lot of the treats to share."

Lee saluted Naruto passionately. "I've been trying my best. I showed a lot of the kids how to make homemade ornaments, like my family used to do. Homemade Frosty the snowman, Rudolph out of popsicles, stars, pretty designs with string and popsicle sticks, and a few other small things. But decorating the village is a different challenge, though. What are we going to do without Christmas lights and stuff?" Asked Lee.

Naruto smirked. "I was waiting for you to say that." Ignoring the urge to grin at the sight of Lee's curious expression, Naruto summoned even more clones; nine to be exact. "All right, guys. Head on over to Konoha as fast as you can, and buy a whole lot of decorations, from Christmas lights to any kind of large Christmassy thing you put outside, and inside too." He handed one clone his frog wallet. "Get the money and the decorations from the apartment too.

"Oh yeah, and get some toys for the kids." Finished Naruto. "Use it all if you have to. Even my secret stash."

"All of your money, Naruto-kun?" Gasped Hinata.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, it is a special occasion."

"On it." Said the clone. He turned to leave, but Lee stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Naruto."

Naruto raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

Lee jerked his head towards a group of kids hanging around the clones putting up the tree. They were laughing and staring in awe. "We don't know what they all want for Christmas."

Naruto froze. He had almost forgotten this very important detail. "You're right, Lee. Good catch, thanks." He thought for a moment. Lee was right, of course. If the clones had all bought just a bunch of wooden trains or dolls, the kids might not have liked those gifts and been upset.

But he had told them that Santa handled the gifts, and would know what they wanted. Naruto was going to have to find a way to sneak the information out of the kids. He glanced around, and as his eyes fell upon Lee, a light bulb went off in his head.

"Hey Lee, how would you feel about dressing up like Santa?"

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><p>In the end, convincing Lee had been the easy part. Turning him into a convincing Santa Claus on such short notice was the challenge. After all, Lee didn't have an ounce of fat on him. Naruto had wished Choji was there.<p>

Luckily, Naruto had a red Santa hat in his backpack at the hotel (he had refused to go anywhere without it around Christmas time, even on missions) for Lee to wear. Hinata had gathered cotton balls from one of her new housewife friends. She had also taken some fabric, and glued the balls onto it as best she could to create the most realistic looking beard she could. She had also woven some thick string to tie it around Lee's head. With any luck, if the kids had tried to pull it off, it wouldn't budge.

Lee had grabbed a pillow from the inn, and stuffed it under his shirt. It had taken a few minutes of adjusting the pillow so it looked like just right. Naruto borrowed a black belt from Hideo, and asked around until he found someone willing to lend him a pair of black boots.

Hinata had managed to find someone willing to let her borrow a pair of red sweatpants, and the only problem now was finding the right red jacket to complete the picture. No one seemed to own one like Naruto wanted, and he felt a little frustrated that they had come so far, only to be denied right at the end.

"What are we going to do about the jacket?" Asked Naruto. He looked Lee over once again. He was donned in the Santa get-up, except for the jacket of course. Had had to admit, Lee did look almost like a legit Santa.

"No one had a red jacket?" Asked Lee.

Naruto shook her head. "No. We asked everyone." He grabbed his hair in frustration. "Come on! We're so close." He complained.

He was thankful that the kids were still mesmerized by the clones hard at work. They were almost done packing the tree in. About another ten minutes, and they would be done. Naruto was running out of time.

Hinata felt strongly that she wanted to help Naruto solve this problem. She couldn't let his hard work go to waste. She pondered for a moment, and then suddenly remembered something. She excused herself from the group, asking them not to move, and that she would be right back.

She dashed through the snow as fast as she could. She reached the inn and climbed the stairs. She reached her room and entered. Lying on the bed were bed sheets. Thick, red bed sheets.

She felt really guilty about this, but Hinata swore to herself she would explain everything later to Hideo, and buy a new sheet from Konoha. She gathered the blanket up, and went to her backpack. She dug inside of it until she found what she was looking for; sewing needles and string, a very sharp kunai, and a black marker.

She wasn't so sure this would work, but it was the best solution she could come up with. She removed the sheet from her bed and spread it out across the floor, doing her best to keep it flat. She took the marker and popped of the cap. She made lines noting where she needed to cut, and where she would wind up sewing the sheets together to create the sweater.

She set to work, using the kunai in place of scissors to carefully tear through the sheets where she needed to. She created the outline for the jacket, and tried to imagine it for Lee with the pillow stuffed inside. She tried her best, and was pretty confident she had it right. She cut very slowly, trying to make the cut seamless and perfect. After a few minutes, she had cut an outline of a sweater out. She laid it aside and went over to the next piece. She repeated her previous step, and managed to cut another perfect outline. She was thankful and frustrated that the sheet was so thick, because it would look great if she succeeded, but she knew she had to sew the seams into it now, to hold it together and make it a legitimate outfit.

She wished she had a staple gun, or even an iron to work with. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. She would just have to work quickly and quietly if she wanted to finish this as soon as possible.

The sewing was incredibly tedious, especially the sleeves. After ten minutes of hard work, Hinata finally made her way all around the clock and finished sewing around. She stood up and picked up the newly created sweater. She tested the sleeves, and looked for imperfections. To her surprise, there weren't any she could find.

It looked passable, but she knew Naruto, and he would want it to look completely authentic. She knew that all she needed to do was add the white, fuzzy soft parts to the suit to finish it. But what would she do to add them? She went through the fabrics in her bag, but couldn't really find anything to match it too well.

She then noticed the welcome mat at the door to the room. It was made of white shag carpet. Maybe….

She apologized again, and grabbed the carpet. She very carefully pulled out her kunai and cut into it from the backside. She did it as light as possible and cut a few strips. She managed to cut enough out to wrap around the collar, the two sleeves, to go up the belly, and just barely had enough to wrap around the bottom.

Again, she set into sewing, which was difficult once again. She worked quickly, and when she finished, she looked her craftwork over. It looked authentic, almost like a real Santa sweater. The shag carpet trim felt a little heavy, but it would have to do.

She cleaned up her mess quickly, putting all of her stuff back into her bag and dispensing the used material into the trash. She grabbed the newly formed sweater and dashed out of the inn. Hopefully Naruto and Lee hadn't forgotten about her.

Thankfully, they were both standing where she had left them. Naruto seemed a little worried, and she noticed that the tree was up, and the children were starting to lose interest in the clones, no matter how hard they tried to entertain them. Currently, they were having a snowball fight. Hinata saw one of the clones get hit in the face, and was dispelled.

Naruto winced. "That girl's got one heck of a throwing arm." He muttered.

Hinata reached them and tried to catch her breath. When Naruto turned to her, she could see the sheer surprise in his eyes as he saw the sweater.

"Holly…Where did you find that, Hinata?" He asked. Even Lee was gawking at the sweater.

Hinata blushed. "I…I made it, Naruto-kun."

Hinata nearly giggled when Naruto's jaw about dropped into the snow.

"You made _that_?" He asked, pointing at the sweater. Hinata nodded. "How?" His tone made it sound like he was very impressed.

Hinata quickly recounted how she made the sweater, passing it to Naruto, who looked it over. His grin spread wide into a giddy smile, like a kid on Christmas morning. Hinata felt warm inside, and smiled.

"This is really well done, Hinata. I can't believe you could make this." He said. He obviously had a newfound respect for Hinata, that was for sure. He couldn't believe how authentic this looked, and she had made it with a severe handicap. He owed her, and he couldn't begin to express just how much he was happy with her.

Hell, he could kiss her.

He paused, and blushed slightly. '_Where did that come from_?' He asked himself. He glanced up at Hinata, and felt his cheeks redden. _'Darn it, now that's all I'm going to think about every time I see her. Great._'

He tried to ignore his thoughts, turning to Lee. "You ready?"

Lee gave an enthusiastic salute and donned the sweater. With it, he looked surprisingly like Santa Claus. If he was just an old man, now, he would be the splitting image.

Now for the ultimate test.

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><p>Naruto gathered the children over to the gazebo, and informed them that he had gotten into contact with Santa. The kids seemed really interested, and the adults gathered around the outside to watch as well.<p>

Naruto said that he had told him about the village, and he felt bad for missing them for so long. "He feels so bad, he told me that he would come by to see everyone today."

"Really?" Came a little girls voice. The other kids were leaning forward, hanging on Naruto's every word. He could see the excitement building up in their eyes.

Naruto nodded. "Yep. And he's here right now." He grinned. "Turn around."

The kids spun around, and gasped.

Lee stood before them, dressed as Santa Claus. He did the "Ho ho ho" thing perfectly, and greeted the children. The kids all swarmed Santa, and Naruto and Hinata had to rush in and stop them from taking the suit apart.

"I don't believe it, it's really him."

"Wow, this is so cool!"

"Presents! Presents!"

The parents were amused, and talking and laughing at their children's surprise. They were in on it as well, but it was still amusing to watch.

Santa-Lee laughed. "Calm down, children. I was in the middle of delivering toys to all of the other good boys and girls of the world, you know?" He said. The kids grew quiet. Santa-Lee started slowly for the gazebo. "Boy, am I tired. But when my friend Naruto told me that you guys were missing Christmas, I knew I just had to come see you all."

The children cheered. Lee reached the gazebo and took a seat. "Now, one at a time please, ho ho ho! Come and sit on Santa's lap, and tell me what toy you would like for Christmas." He said, patting on his lap and winking.

The children obeyed quickly and quietly. Naruto nearly burst out laughing. They were so afraid of being bad in front of Santa Claus, they didn't argue about who went first.

A little girl with black hair and beautiful green eyes went first, and climbed onto Lee's lap. She seemed shy, and Santa-Lee tried to help her feel relaxed. She tugged on his beard, and Naruto held his breath.

Thankfully, the beard didn't come apart, much to Naruto and Hinata's relief. They sighed in relief and smiled at each other. Naruto remembered his thoughts earlier, and glanced away quickly.

Why was this happening? This was weird.

The little girl told him she wanted a new dolly, a pretty one with a pink dress, with hair she could brush. Lee laughed and told her that if she is a good little girl, she will get the doll. The girl seemed so happy; she gave Santa-Lee a kiss on the cheek and thanked him.

This pattern continued until every kid had been to see Santa and told him of the gift he or she wanted. Thankfully, none of it was anything drastically expensive, and was surprisingly common. Dolls, bicycles, dresses, action figures, books, and other toys.

Lee said farewell to the kids, and they all groaned. They didn't want him to leave. Lee apologized in his Santa voice, and told them he had to get back to delivering presents, or he wouldn't finish in time.

One boy with spiky blue hair asked if he would be back, and he told them he would, later tonight after they went to sleep. He strolled out away from the gazebo, and thanked them all for being good little boys and girls. He pointed up, and jumped straight up as high as he could, disappearing into the clouds.

The kids were so amazed as the gazed up at the sky, they didn't see Lee land behind the school house. Naruto and Hinata rushed over to him, and helped him remove the Santa get up until he was back in his green clothing.

"Did it work?" Asked Naruto, holding onto the hat.

Lee held out a small, mechanical recorder and pushed a button. The little girls voice began to play, and they heard her ask for a doll before Lee clicked the stop button.

"Mission accomplished." Said Lee.

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Lee."

"No problem, Naruto."

Naruto gathered the nine clones and gave one the recorder. He told them to buy all of the toys- as well as the stuff previously mentioned- as quickly as they could. The stores would be closing soon, and time was of the essence.

They agreed, and vanished, rushing as fast as they could back to Konoha.

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><p>Naruto, Hinata, and Lee tried their best to buy time for the clones to return. Hopefully, they would be gone for about an hour, tops.<p>

Naruto explained how they were going to receive the decorations and stuff for the trees and houses to the adults, while Hinata elected to share the Christmas stories she knew with everyone. A great many people gathered around the gazebo to listen to Hinata's stories, and even Naruto found himself entranced by her voice, and by the story.

He himself wasn't even aware he was doing it, but he was staring at her lips the entire time of the stories.

Lee, on the other hand, did his best to teach the villagers Christmas songs, and how to go caroling. Naruto remembered that Lee and his family (surprisingly normal people, actually) would go around to every home- even his- and sing carols. Heck, last year, Naruto had joined him. It had been fun.

Time passed, and soon there were people singing Christmas songs with each other, and laughing when they messed up the parts. Hinata was still telling stories, and each was as interesting as the last.

The time was around 4:00 P.M. when the clones finally made it back to the village, carrying humongous boxes and loads of bags. They apologized for taking so long, explaining that the stores are crazy right now. Naruto made them take the boxes of gifts to the hotel room, while the rest took the decorations and such to the Christmas tree.

Story time stopped, and so did the singing lessons. Everyone gathered around Naruto and the large boxes and bags of decorations. The clone handed Naruto back his wallet, and dispelled itself. To Naruto's surprise, there was still a little money in there.

Naruto dug around in the boxes, and took notice of a lot of stuff. There were a lot of strands of big lights, a few inflatable snowmen and Santa, Santa on his sleigh with reindeer plastic figures, and so many more decorations that Naruto found it hard to believe he still had some money left. It really was a Christmas miracle.

"What do we do now?" Asked the little girl with black hair.

Naruto turned to her, and then smiled at everyone else.

"Who wants to help me decorate the tree?"

**To Be Concluded….**

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><p>(Author Notes) Trust me, I did my homework on this one. The bit about the bed sheets is true.<p>

Please review. I'm doing my best to get this out before Saturday, and all I'm asking for Christmas from you guys are some reviews.

How about this? In your reviews this time, tell me what you're doing for Christmas, or what you hope to get this Sunday.

Until the next chapter, Have a very merry Christmas!


	4. And Brought Christmas Delight

Fourth and final chapter. I hope it turns out okay. Thanks to those of you who clicked and enjoyed the read.

Merry Christmas.

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><p>After Naruto had explained what decorating the tree was about, and demonstrated with a few bulbs, the rest of the villagers began to help out; hanging bulbs, stringing garland, hanging the handmade ornaments, and helping each other string up Christmas lights around the tree.<p>

They had to bring out ladders to decorate the higher parts, and used a power generator to power the Christmas lights around the tree. Naruto helped others decorate their homes with lights as well. It seemed like everyone was having fun with the decorating, which made Naruto feel glad.

The decorating lasted for a good two hours. The sun was beginning to disappear over the tree line.

Naruto watched contently as the children and parents decorated the tree, the kids playing with the garland, and the laughter of the men as they hung decorations. This was what Christmas was about. It made him feel good. He spotted Asuka and his wife decorating their home- with the help of a few younger men- with large multi-colored bulbs. Asuka spotted him and waved, and Naruto waved back.

He spotted Lee and Hinata across the way. Hinata was talking with an older woman, probably engaged in some girl talk. To be fair, Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying. But Hinata was smiling, and that made him happy.

Lee was trying to show off to the villagers with his tree decorating skills. He would take a bulb, jump up as high as he could, and quickly catch the hook onto a branch before descending to the earth. The kids kept pestering him to do it again and again, which Lee couldn't help but agree to.

Naruto watched for a moment, and then waited until each of them saw him respectively before ushering them over. They came, first Lee then Hinata.

"What's up, Naruto?" Asked Lee.

"I…well…I just wanted to say sorry for keeping you guys here for so long. You can go home now if you want." He said. It was true, he still felt guilty for keeping them away from their families on Christmas, no matter what they had said earlier.

Lee and Hinata exchanged looks before smiling. Hinata turned to Naruto, blushing slightly. "Naruto-kun, I am here because I want to be." She said softly.

"Same for me, Naruto. I still want to help." Replied the green shinobi.

"But what about your families? Are you 100% sure you don't want to spend Christmas Eve night with them?" He asked.

"Naruto," Spoke Lee. He placed a hand firmly on Naruto's shoulder, locking eyes with the blond. "I told you earlier that I would stay and help. They will understand. Of course I want to spend Christmas with them, but Christmas is about going out of your way to help others, not because you have to, but because you can. I want to help you. Hinata-san feels the same way."

Naruto glanced over to her. She nodded, smiling.

"You guys sure?" He asked.

Again, they both nodded.

Naruto felt a warm feeling in his chest, and he had to force himself not to cry. "You guys don't know what this means to me. Seriously, thanks."

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><p>Another hour passed by, and the villagers were still at work decorating, and sharing their fresh Christmas treats. Hinata had already met up with Hideo and explained what had happened. At first, he seemed like he had been knocked off of his feet, but he quickly regained himself and accepted her apology. She had promised him even higher quality sheets, and he thanked her.<p>

The sun was out of sight, and now the village was being illuminated by bright Christmas tree. The tree lights had been layered around the tree, all the way to the top. The large silver star had been placed on top by none other than Asuka. With Naruto's help and a ladder, he was able to make it up there with ease.

Afterwards, Naruto had talked with Asuka about a few other Christmas traditions that he hadn't been able to get to this year, and Askua grinned.

"You've done more than enough this year, Naruto." He said. "And besides," He added, winking. "There's always next year."

Naruto beamed his stupid grin and agreed. He said he would definitely come back early next year to help out, and Asuka told him he appreciated it.

Naruto took a walk around the village, and found Lee performing the Christmas songs again. This time, he and a few other people were caroling, singing for the other villagers that gathered to watch. Naruto recognized the song as _Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer._ A villager or two would join in the singing at random.

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Glad to see that I can actually do some good." He muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" Came a soft voice from behind him.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his boots, he was surprised too much. Hinata had pretty much gotten the drop on him. He kept his cool and replied. "Well, I usually tend to mess things up, if you hadn't noticed."

She blushed again for some reason, and smiled. "No, I hadn't noticed."

Was she trying to be sarcastic, or was she serious. "Seriously?" He asked.

She nodded. "S-seriously."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that." He said. So she didn't see him as a failure? That was a bit of refreshingly good news. He couldn't help but smile. "You know, I'm also glad that I finally have people to celebrate Christmas with."

Hinata frowned. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not like it was your fault."

"I'm sorry." She repeated, averting her gaze to the snow.

Naruto couldn't help it, and let out a brief laugh. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. Seriously." He paused, looking over the village again. He sighed. "I just wish I could have done more for them."

"Consider your Christmas wish granted." Came a familiar woman's voice from behind the two of them.

Naruto and Hinata spun around in surprise, and both gasped in unison.

Standing before them was Tsunade, Kakashi, Neji, Tenten, Gai, Shikamaru and his family, Sakura and her mom, Shizune, Ino and her family, Shino and his, Iruka, Choji (who was dressed as Santa Claus), a lot of other Konoha residents that Naruto didn't really know too well, and most surprisingly of all, Kiba with his family.

"What…What's going on?" Asked Naruto, pulling himself from his stupor. He also noticed a lot of the local villagers were curious about the newcomers as well. They were all watching.

Tsunade folded her arms across her chest. "A little doggy told us what you guys were up to."

Naruto knew immediately who she was talking about, but found it hard to believe. He turned to Kiba, who was smirking.

"Kiba?" He asked.

Kiba shrugged, still smirking. "Don't get too sentimental. I thought a lot about what you guys were doing up here, and figured you would need some extra help." His brow cocked as he finished, "I also knew you would do a sub-par job without me."

Naruto smirked back. "In your dreams, dog breath."

"We're all here to help, Naruto." Said Kakashi, holding up a few decorations of his own.

"In any way we can." Added Iruka.

Naruto and Hinata smiled at each other. "Thanks guys." He said.

Choji stepped up and took a deep breath. "Ho ho ho!" He shouted. "Merry Christmas."

One little kid leapt up into the air. "Oh my gosh! Guys, It's Santa!" He yelled.

Choji stepped forward to meet all of the kids that were rushing at him. He laughed heartily, with as much jolly as any one person could.

Sakura stepped up to Naruto. "We brought a lot of Christmas stuff with us. Think we can help?" She asked.

Naruto nodded. "Of course." He turned to Tsunade. "But why would you all come out all this way just to help me? Why aren't all of you back at your homes for the holiday?"

"Isn't it obvious, Naruto?" Asked Tsunade. "We were all touched by what Kiba told us, and felt that we all wanted to be here, doing what you are doing. We wanted to help celebrate Christmas together. Think of this as a Christmas party." She said, producing a bottle of sake from her robe.

Before Naruto could respond, Tsunade took a large step forward, and turned towards the other Konoha villagers. "All right everyone, make sure to give this village the best Christmas ever. Understood?"

Everyone cheered "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

Naruto watched as the Konoha villagers mingled with the locals. Many from Konoha had brought their own Christmas games, loads of treats and snacks, and decorations to add to the tree. Kakashi brought several children's books about Christmas, and Gai and Iruka helped him pass them out.

* * *

><p>It had been hours since Konoha had arrived, and already the place looked even more like a winter wonderland, more so than Naruto had even dared to dream. It was a postcard just waiting to be captured on film.<p>

Naruto located Tsunade, and watched her set up a table with many cups lined up. She had large bowl of punch sitting on the table, with Christmas cookies and fudge on the sides. Then he noticed the second bowl of punch, and wondered what that one was for.

As if answering his question, Tsunade looked around suspiciously, then opened up her sake bottle and mixed the punch with sake. Naruto couldn't believe it, and yet it made sense. Tsunade was spiking the punch. She produced a cup, dipped it in, and chugged it all down in one gulp.

Further down the table, Sakura, Shizune, Ino, and many other Konoha women had prepared many Christmas cookies and real food. Turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pork and sauerkraut, and other foods Naruto really didn't recognize.

Choji was still Santa, and was hanging around the kids- or was it the other way around? - while Lee and Konohamaru were dressed as elves and were helping "Santa".

A few Konoha villagers had brought speakers and a CD/karaoke machine and were playing Christmas music throughout the village.

The tree itself looked even more dazzling than it did before. It was brighter, with even more decorations.

Asuka approached Naruto, now wrapped up in a winter coat as the temperature had dropped. He extended his hand for a shake, and Naruto obliged. "I must say, Naruto. I did have my doubts about this whole Christmas thing, but I'm glad we did it. This Christmas thing is really magical after all."

Naruto just smiled and nodded. "No problem." He said.

* * *

><p>Later, as it was getting darker, the children were getting tired. The parents began to take them in to their homes to lay them to bed. The parents would later return to the festivities outside. Naruto waited until all of the little kids were inside asleep before he snuck away and gathered the boxes of presents.<p>

He had Kakashi, Gai, Iruka, and Lee help him out with the toys. The clones, thankfully, had marked which toy was for which kid. They got out the wrapping paper Shikamru's family had brought, cleared a table to set the stuff down on, and began wrapping presents. Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Tenten went around gathering the parents and asking them to go to the table. Naruto and the others would wrap and present, and call out the child's name.

The parent of that child would step forward and receive the gift. At first, they were confused with what to do with it. Kakashi explained that they should place the presents near the fireplace tonight, and then in the morning the kids will wake up and tear the wrapping paper off to reveal their gifts.

"They will then believe that Santa came to visit them." Finished Kakashi. The parent thanked him, and vanished to place the gifts.

After all of the gifts had been wrapped and delivered, Naruto sighed in relief. Kakashi placed a hand on the blonds shoulder. "You did very good, Naruto. I'm proud of you."

Naruto nodded, and then suddenly remembered something. He dug into his own bag and removed a thin, rectangular gift wrapped in red paper. "I almost forgot, Kakashi-sensei. This is the Christmas gift I got for you."

Kakashi seemed surprised, but he thanked Naruto and took it. Naruto told him to go ahead and open it, wanted to catch his sensei's reaction.

Kakashi tore the paper until he could see what it was he was holding. It was an autographed copy of the new Icha Icha movie. Kakashi froze in place, too stunned for words. His one visible eye was as wide as possible. This movie wasn't even set to be released until next year!

Naruto grinned, folding his arms behind his head. "You like it? The princess gave it to me as a thank you or something. I don't really like the series, so I thought you should have it."

Kakashi glanced over at Naruto, still carrying the same expression. "God bless you, Naruto." He said.

Naruto lost it, and started laughing.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the party was still going as strongly as it was earlier. Hinata slid out of a house carrying a cup of warm apple-cider. She walked around until she spotted Naruto sitting on a bench, watching a group of drunken adults dancing to the Yule tide songs. He was smiling and chuckling at the antics.<p>

She came up to him and greeted him, holding out the cup of apple-cider for him. Naruto seemed grateful, and thanked her as he took the cup and sipped on it. She sat in silence with him, watching the adults sing and dance like fools.

Naruto kept sideways glancing over at her. He seemed…a little nervous about something. Hinata wondered what it was. She hoped it was nothing serious.

"Hey," He finally said. "Thanks for helping me out today. I couldn't have done it without you. Or Lee."

Hinata blushed and smiled. "I'm just happy I got to spend Christmas with you, Naruto."

There was an awkward pause between the two. Both of their faces heated as they blushed. Hinata realized immediately what she had said.

"NO! I mean…ano…y-y-you know, Naruto-kun? I'm h-happy I was able to help you out." She stammered quickly.

Naruto, equally embarrassed, averted his gaze to the ground, still blushing. "Yeah….Me too." He muttered.

Then the awkward silence set in, and Hinata feared the worst. Had she ruined the good mood between the two of them? She hadn't meant to, it had just slipped out.

Before she could fret anymore, she noticed Naruto extending a small box wrapped with a bow towards her. She glanced over at him. He still had his gaze towards the ground.

"This is for you….Merry Christmas." He said nervously.

Hinata wasn't really sure what to do, except take the gift. She thanked him and accepted it. She undid the bow gently and lifted the lid.

Inside was a single sheet of paper, rolled up with another bow wrapped around it. Hinata undid the bow, and glanced up to see Naruto was not watching her intently, as if he was trying to gauge her reaction to whatever the gift was.

Hinata glanced back down and undid the bow. She unrolled the paper and noticed it was a letter addressed to her.

As she read it, her eyes began to widen, and tears welled in her eyes. Her hand went to cover her mouth, as she placed the sheet of paper down, she looked over at Naruto, who was still watching. His eyes were asking for an answer.

She couldn't find the words, so she nodded, smiling and trying to hold back the tears.

Naruto smiled joyfully, as if he had just won the lottery.

He leaned in to capture her lips. She closed her eyes and leaned in as well.

A snowball flew through the air and hit the two of them, halting them before they could kiss. Naruto and Hinata quickly looked over to see Konohamaru and his friends, laughing and making kissy faces.

Konohamaru spat his tongue out at Naruto, and the others did the same.

Naruto laughed. "You guys are going to pay for that." He said. He rose to his feet, and took Hinata's hand in his. They both squeezed affectionately.

Naruto and Hinata chased after Konohamaru and his friends, hand in hand, laughing the entire time.

**The End**

* * *

><p>So glad I got this finished before Christmas. There were several other versions on how this story played out, but I have to say I like how this one turned out.<p>

Originally, I had wanted Naruto trying to give this village Christmas, but everything he would try would go horribly wrong, and he kept trying relentlessly, eventually nearly giving up and feeling like a loser. Hinata was going to cheer him up and remind him about the true meaning of Christmas. The end is the same in both versions.

I'll probably incorporate something like that into next year's Christmas story.

Please leave me reviews. I always read them, and reply to most of them. I would love feedback.

Also, if you're new to my stories, look at some of my other works. The one I'm most proud of is Bonds of Time, which has a sequel coming out in January.

So have a very Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

Thank you for reading.


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